Some practical advice...

Borrowed from here. Usual rules apply. 

I thought that it might be a good idea to talk a little bit about something most graduate schemes (and indeed, the industry) seem to neglect. The practical side.

For those of you who don’t live in the South East of the country, getting into Advertising - (or, at the very least, getting some work experience so you can make your mind up) seems doubly tricky; because a) You don’t know anyone in London or have anyone you can stay with and b) Most of the graduate schemes or work experience programmes are closed/you’ve not heard anything back from those few emails you sent to a general email address most agencies offer.

Before I go on, I do know there are agencies outside of London. Of course. There are many fine agencies in Manchester or Birmingham.  But, given that the bulk of agencies are in London (and London is what I have experience of, as a West Midlander who wanted to work in London), that’s what this blog post will concern itself with. The same, general rules apply for any big city, I think - whether it’s within Blighty or the US.

Right. There are two flavours of practical advice you need to concern yourself with, which I’ll outline below:

1) Proving that you know about/want a career in Advertising

Over the past six odd years, I have met a lot of people who have seemingly done everything right - they have a good degree, have already made in-roads into meeting people in Advertising and may even run their University or College’s Marketing/Advertising student club.

Despite this, they haven’t been able to get in. I’m afraid (and I had to learn this the hard way) that there’s a gap between being academically adept and getting into the industry. This puts a lot of bright people off, chiefly because they’ve been used to getting good marks and simply progressing. ‘Getting in’ is not an empirical thing. There isn’t a magic route. Some people are simply fortunate by getting in via their first interview. Others, like me, have had to have a year or so getting work experience, living at home and saving money before they finally succeeded.

That said (and I don’t wish to hector or belabour the point), there are definitely short cuts you can use.

I did several things to prove that I knew about and really wanted a career in Advertising. I blogged, showcased my situation and my thinking and tried to connect, via twitter, with a wider number of Ad-folk. There wasn’t one magic, ‘eureka’ moment. It all worked together to help me get into the business.

Whilst, I know, more people blog than ever nowadays (at the time, in 2005/6, ad blogs were fairly new, much less a wannabe, graduate blog), not enough grads use Slideshare to showcase their thinking/situation. Consider using it - it’ll help provide an introduction to those potential agency employers when sending those initial emails to agencies.

If you can, email a named person, not just a generic email address. A real person has responsibility. A 'wanttowork' email has very little obligation to get back in touch with you.

2) Getting to, and living in London.

This, for most, will prove to be the biggest stumbling block. You don’t need me to tell you that London is bloody expensive, and if you don’t have family members/friends living here, it seems like a right bloody faff.

It needn’t be. There are ways and means for getting down to the Big Smoke and having somewhere to live. For starters, unless you’re loaded, don’t consider a short term let. The chances are, you’ll need to be in London for a week to about six weeks, depending on what you’ve been able to get (work experience, or a summer school programme; or even just a day of graduate interviews).

Instead, consider youth hostels. Yes, I know. YOUTH HOSTELS?! If you went travelling, you probably last encountered them somewhere halfway round the world, or somewhere to be put up on a school trip. Suffice to say, neither memory is likely to be wholly positive.

I’m pleased to say that the YHA is a brilliant option. I stayed in one when I had work experience at Fallon, DLKW and Saatchi & Saatchi. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not exactly the Ritz, but it’s good value for money and gives you breakfast, which is the important thing.

Yes, London is costly, but if you’re savvy (the Taste Card is a good shout for evening meals) and stay in the right sort of accommodation, it is affordable, no matter who you are. And, personally, it helped spur me on to do my best at my work experience to try and turn it into a full time position.

I hope that little lot helps, all.

Ad Agency Grad Schemes - 2011/12...

Some of these folks may end up working in adland....

Hi all.

This is (probably) the post you've been waiting for, if you're a regular reader of the site. The list of ad agencies that are running graduate schemes in the second half of 2011 are below. I'm sure I've missed one or two - do let me know in the comments:

AMV:

Shortly to open in October 2011 (here). You can keep an eye on the latest comings and goings by following their twitter account.

BBH:

BBH have no ‘formal’ graduate scheme running at the moment; instead, they have two initiatives – one of which is a ten week internship (the twitter’s here), though it appears the deadline’s past (and I’m unclear about whether it is US only or UK and US – does anyone from BBH London want to comment?), and another which is a formalised placement scheme. Check them out.

BMB:

BMB are running a ‘non grad grad scheme’, which is shortly to open. Whether you have a degree or not, you can apply. Keep an eye on it – it reportedly opens on the 1^st of November.

CHI:

CHI’s grad scheme is due to open in December 2011. Watch this page like a hawk, as well as their twitter-stream.

Chime:

The Chime group (which comprises of Ad Agencies - VCCP - design and PR) are shortly to open their scheme. The page should be fully functional/open in November 2011.

Dare:

Dare’s grad scheme has yet to re-open this year. However, their Facebook page (which they used to recruit last year) hints that the graduate scheme is going to open in the Autumn. Their twitter streams (both for main agency and the graduates) should provide a hint as to when it’s going to open.

DAS Accelerate:

The DAS scheme has just launched. It shuts on the 3^rd of January 2012. You can find out more about it on the DAS link above, or go straight to the application page here. Alternatively, you can check out their twitter here.

DLKW Lowe:

My old agency is looking for bright grads to come and join. You can find more details here. You’ll have to apply before midday on the 9^th of November.

Elvis:

Elvis are shortly to announce their 2011 graduate scheme. Any activity will take place on their Facebook wall, which you can see here. Applications will open in Autumn.

JWT London:

JWT's graduate scheme is happening this year - find out more here and on the Facebook page (and the twitter stream). Applications shut on the 2nd of November.

Leo Burnett:

Leo’s have just launched their new graduate scheme, called ‘The Foundry’, aimed at both account handlers and planners. You can find out more about it here. (UPDATE - THE FACEBOOK PAGE IS NOW LIVE. ). Their twitter stream is here. Applications close on Friday 28^th of October.

M&C Saatchi:

M&C’s site indicates that they are going to be recruiting graduates this year, but the link re-directs to a broken email link. They’ve recruited every year since I’ve written AdGrads, so it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled.

Ogilvy:

Ogilvy have a bumper crop of schemes that are shortly to open. They've been in touch. Both the Ogilvy Fellowship and Planning Fellowship open on the 14th of November, and will close on the 8th of January 2012. There's also a two month 'Summer Fellowship', which is going to open in early 2012. You can find out more about the Ogilvy Fellows by looking at their Facebook page, their twitter account or by looking on Youtube. Also, they are launching a competition on Monday (10th of October) for potential applicants to their open night, where top speakers from the group will be chatting. To get a place, you should write a tweet explaining why, and hashtagging it #OgilvyOpenNight.

RKCR/Y&R:

UPDATED: Rainey's grad scheme (for account management) is now live. It closes on the 28th of October.

WPP Fellowship:

WPP's 'golden ticket', 3 year, multiple country and marketing discipline scheme is now open. It shuts Thursday 10th of November at midday, GMT.

Good luck with all of these, guys. Again, let me know if I've missed any.

War of the Words...

You could be one of these folks...

Hello gang.

There will be very shortly be a round up of all of the grad schemes. Honest. In the meantime, the lovely people at Brand Republic have been in touch to talk to me about the forthcoming War of the Words event.

It's squarely aimed at you, AdGrads folks. Sadly, for the studenty types, going along to see it will cost a bit of cash, but there are other opportunities (see the bold type) which you should try to get involved with.

Here's some of the blurb:

"Campaign's War of the Words, in association with The Huffington Post UK, is a new half-day, fast-paced event where speakers (all aged 30 or under), will present ideas that may shape the future in profound ways.

Like the Advertising Association's Front Foot Initiative, it will show the industry the reality of the world in which these speakers - advertising's future - have grown up.

Each speaker will be drawn from different disciplines and territories. Each will present for 15 minutes maximum. Speakers will address how creativity, planning, brands and media might change the face of advertising, and the way it works.
The X Factor-style judges will be Nikki Crumpton, the chief strategy officer of McCann London, David Hackworthy, a founding partner at The Red Brick Road, and Johnny Hornby, a co-founder of CHI & Partners.

There will also be an open-mic strand, open to agency talent of 25 or under, students and any madly hungry young people. In this section, promoted by The Huffington Post UK, ten people will be asked to pitch an idea that can be expressed with a statement starting with two words: "I believe." They will explore their idea in just three minutes."

You wouldn't usually get access to the likes of those big, advertising names usually. To apply for one of the ten open mic places, email wotw at huffingtonpost.com (EMAIL ADDRESS CHANGED) with a piece of up to 500 words on one of things you're most passionate about by (UPDATED DATE) the 31st of October. Creative submissions are actively encouraged, and then Campaign and the Huffington Post will ask the best to submit their 'I believe' 3 minute presentation, and the final ten will be asked to speak at the event.

FURTHER UPDATE: AdGrads readers can now get discounted tickets. The first fifty can buy tickets for £50 plus VAT when they email.

FINAL UPDATE: There's just a few tickets yet....get 'em now.

I hope many AdGrads readers get involved.

An Amend, & A Final Countdown...

Dee dee. Dee tee dee tee dee.

Ah, hair rock. Lovely.

Anyway, three things have just happened:

1) AMV have a new graduate scheme link, which is here. The details are just the same, though their twitter stream (@amvacademy) will hopefully keep you updated.

2) Leo Burnett's grad scheme is about to close (this Friday night, the 1st of October). So get those apps in.

3) M&C Saatchi's grad scheme IS open. I've been on a search to try and find it, and it does exist. Here 'tis. It closes on the 5th of November.

Here's hoping those are useful. Let us know how you get on, or if there are any other schemes out there which we've missed.

2011 Grad Schemes: The List

You will not (happily) be working with these people.

Hi gang.

As it’s graduate recruitment season, I thought it would be a good idea to run down which agencies are (currently) doing what, and provide some helpful links.

This list is by no means exhaustive, and for any agencies who are reading this and want to promote their grad scheme (little or large, UK or not), shoot me an email.

AMV-BBDO: Their graduate page is here, with some details about the 2011 scheme – it will open in mid September 2010. First round interviews will be on Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th November 2010. Final round interviews will be on Friday 10th December 2010.

BBH: No graduate scheme this yearas to this year’s intake, but keep an eye on their London office’s twitter here.

BMB: Their site says they are finalising bits and bobs, but keep an eye here for the opening date.

CHI: Their page has a graduate page, but no news as yet. It should open soon, if recent years are anything to go by.

Dare: Their 2011 grad scheme has yet to be announced, but keep an eye on the Facebook page – it should be announced nearer December/January time if they run one next year.

DDB London: These guys have just opened their grad scheme, with the details here and the Facebook group here. Applications close 29th of October.

Engine: As noted in the comments, these guys have opened their grad scheme now. Applications close on 20th November 2010. They'll contact you by the end of December to let you know whether you've been selected to attend a first interview.

JWT London: Their scheme has opened, and you can see more details here. In short the deadline is Wednesday 3rd November 2010, with interviews the week commencing 22nd November 2010. If you’re successful at interview, they’ll invite you to a two day seminar on Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th December 2010.

Ogilvy: The graduate scheme is here. Sadly, the 2010 intake has closed, but you can sign up to follow their twitter here.

Leo Burnett: Check the Facebook page out here, or click on the link to their site. The recent grads have a newly minted blog too, which is here, and if you have any further questions of the Grad team,
email them. Their deadline is midnight on the 1st of October, for a start date early 2011. Get your skates on.

Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe: Their page is unusually quiet, but it’s worth watching their blog for more details.

McCann London: Their McAcademy has ended this year, but if it is run next year (too early to tell – their site hasn’t been updated to say whether or not), it applications will open from July/August time.

MCBD: I can’t see any evidence of a grad scheme this year, but it’s worth keeping an eye on their Facebook page, which should liven up soon if they’re recruiting this year.

Publicis London: No news on the new summer school, but it is due to launch soon, if their Facebook page is to be believed.

VCCP London: Their site appears not to be working (?), but here’s their twitter stream.

WPP Fellowship: The fellowship is open now, and you can click here to find out more. Essentially, the deadline is 12 noon (GMT) on Thursday 11^th of November.

I hope those are all helpful.

Off to School...

You won't be writing with crayons, that's for certain.

One of the things we often get asked in AdGrads is what people should do if they want to learn about advertising - should they do an advertising degree, or go to Watford or Falmouth? Or should they go and do a conventional degree?

There's never been one catch all answer - the danger with doing a course which is just dedicated to advertising may mean you lose out on a wider, broader experience, and only be able to 'do' conventional advertising. Also, as the communications world is changing so quickly, it's very hard to suggest a course which is always cutting edge.

By doing a straightforward University degree, it might mean you can think more laterally, and have a broader sense of learning, but isn't that practical when you first start in adland/the workplace.

All of that said - last week, I met a man called Marc Lewis, who is Dean of the School of Communication Arts. The school has been resurrected, and offers an innovative, cutting edge approach to getting people into advertising. It's based on a wiki platform, and is taught by real practioneers in the communications business.

It aims to overcome the barriers to those who'd like a career in the ad business, but find the economic or geographic barriers too high to overcome (after all - not all of us live in the South East, or have wealthy parents who can help out in the first year of trying).

For those of you already in industry who would like to help out - there's also the option to join the school as a Mentor. Follow these links. I'm signing up.

I'll let Marc explain:


How would you design the perfect advertising school?

When the late, great John Gillard established School of Communication Arts in the 1980s, his vision was to provide the antithesis to a university education. (He used to call one such university ‘The Royal College of Hobbies’)

School of Communication Arts reopens this September and is inviting aspiring creatives to apply for the course. The school is unique for several reasons, not least for the fact that it puts such a focus on its students’ careers. The curriculum feels more like an apprenticeship than formal education. Work placements are promised for every student, so long as they pass all units of the curriculum leading up to the work placement. There is even a unit in the curriculum called ‘Getting your first promotion’.

The curriculum is unique because it has been written by the advertising industry, not by academics. This approach guarantees that the next generation of creative talent learn and master the skills that are needed by employers. The school’s principal, Richard Adams, curates the curriculum online using a wiki platform so that anyone connected to the industry can suggest content. The result is a qualification supported by the industry and accredited by University of the Arts London Awarding Body.

Those industry professionals that have helped build the curriculum then go on to deliver it by spending time at the school in the capacity as ‘mentors’. School of Communication Arts has recruited an impressive network of hundreds of mentors, hailing from advertising, film, fashion, music, technology and gaming industries. Up to six mentors hang out in the school every day, so that they can provide advice and support to learners.

There are no classrooms at the school. In fact School of Communication Arts looks more like an advertising agency than a place of study. “People learn better when they apply newly acquired skills and theories to real and relevant problems,” says its Dean, Marc Lewis. “That’s one of the reasons why we get our cohort working on real briefs and winning real pitches in an environment that simulates adlands finest creative departments.”

Predictably, the school prepares its students for creative careers in advertising, either as copywriters or art directors. Quite unpredictably, the school offers a third career choice – ideapreneur. Learners following the ideapreneur pathway receive investment to help start a business whilst at the school and support to help grow it. Advertising agencies stump up the cash, hoping to own a small stake in the next YouTube or Facebook.

If you are looking to kick-start your creative career then apply now to join the school this September.

More Grad Scheming...

I can safely say you won't be working for him.

Following on from the seemingly exhaustive list of grad schemes we posted a little while ago, there are even more that've opened.

The Cossette lot have opened. So this means:

Dare Digital have opened, deadline's the 15th of November.

MCBD have opened. Get your apps in, also by the 15th of November.

I'm not sure about Elvis - couldn't find anything. Anyone from Elvis want to confirm?

If there are any more we've missed, give us a shout. Ogilvy & McCann still haven't opened.

We Will Not Be Silent

Build from the bottom. Via Paul Goyette

I was having a look at the Facebook groups and came across a thread about how a London agency was handling graduate recruitment this year. I wasn't impressed so I blogged about it on my blog. But I think it's important more people read it, so here we go.

We started this journey just under 15 months ago, the whole point of it was to be a place where people could find out about a career in the communications industry - because as fate would have it a significant number of advertising agencies are ridiculously poor at setting their stalls out to potential new hires. They then aim to charge large multi-disciplinary corporations with the mantra that 'we know all about communication'. Ironic methinks.

A year on, we are fortunate enough to still be considered relevant; because of the fact that you guys take the time to read and interact with us - which is awesome, because of the generosity of some of those already in the industry, but also possibly because a vacuum exists that few have attempted to fill. As a result, the IPA have been touch a few times, some agencies have labelled it as recommended reading, others have elevated it to essential - which is nice.

You see hits and links and free lunches are great, but they're not the point.

The point was, and still is that advertising agencies are in the proverbial bucket of crap when it comes to the hiring and retention of the best that society has to offer. The reasons are too numerous for me to dive deeply into for this post, but essentially ad agencies have been dipping into the same bucket for too long, ignoring some kung-fu crazy people, and losing many other potential grads by simply not getting the word out about what an amazing career working in comms can be. People then go into finance and consulting and are miserable. I'm generalising of course. But it does happen. A lot.

This was an attempt to increase awareness about advertising as a career, and hopefully begin to be part of a change in the way advertising agencies recruit and retain junior staff. By and large we'd like to think that it has been a positive influence, agency websites are much more forthcoming about what advertising is as a career and the IPA are really pushing to improve this facet of the industry.

AdGrads is now a funky little community on the web, be it on Twitter, Facebook or the blog itself. So as in any community, people talk to each other about what's going on. And because of this, when an organisation is unhelpful, rude or plain ignorant to a member of the community, word gets around.

Many London ad agencies are recruiting at this moment so there are countless of y'all who are examining applications and websites and hoping to stand out; just as I was not so long ago. Many of you are studying as well as trying to complete obtuse application forms. I'm sure some of y'all have part-time jobs on top of this. It is only your enthusiasm and passion that is driving you. Of course it's a requirement to have these qualities for the world of work, but that doesn't mean that they should be ignored.

So imagine a London agency that claims its goal is to use creativity to solve business problems.

Now picture said agency running a grad scheme this year. Let's say they have a fancy flash website. Where do you think they should put information about the graduate scheme on it? Perhaps in a 'careers' or 'join us' or 'contact us' section? No no, they're far too cool for such silly things. Let's imagine they devote a tiny little link right next to the hugely popular 'T&Cs' link right at the bottom of the page to the future employees of their company. And let's imagine they use the grand font size of oh say 6 for this link.

Now perhaps this would link to a section with a little bit about the agency, what they believe in, why grads should apply, what kind of training they should expect, maybe what they'll earn and other things like further reading that could be done, who to contanct with questions - that kind of thing. That would be useful, wouldn't it? But again no, our agency is perhaps far to busy or lazy to do anything of the sort (and let's remember that agencies such as BBH and Ogilvy HAVE gone to the trouble of doing all of this, and will probably get a higher number of quality applicants as a result). Let's say they just whack up a Word document of the application form. And nothing else.

But you see, advertising applicants - or AdGrads if you will, aren't put off so easily. We know this. So let's have one of them call up our agency to ask them for some further information about the scheme. Wouldn't it be bad if our agency was unable to tell an applicant the nature of the job it's offering? First telling them to look at the form, then claiming to not know what the form actually says, and finally resorting to telling the potential applicant to essentially 'apply and you'll find out everything if you get the job'. Doesn't sound like a very wise and informed bunch of people does it? Maybe not the kind of effort you'd want out of a company where you'd be expected to put your heart and soul into, to do all the little things that senior people may not want to do, but still need to be done.

And perhaps this wouldn't seem like the kind of company that uses creativity to solve business problems. Because it seems to me that this kind of attitude is exactly the kind of business problem that might need some creativity to get solved. Or barring that, maybe just some common sense.

Let's call this agency BMB.

If I could, I would tell the inevitably hard working men and women involved in this state of affairs that the funny thing about living in the age we do is that this kind of behavior, be it with your clients, your employees or your future employees spreads quite quickly. And the little student who you show disdain for may know some more students. And these students may know some people who used to be students, but now write a blog about getting into advertising. And maybe the guy who writes a blog about getting into advertising thinks that maybe this year, you don't deserve to get the best people, because as his dad often tells him "You get what you put in". And it doesn't seem like you're putting that much in this year.

"Power to the people, right on"
John Lennon

This is our 100th post. Quite fitting given the subject I think. Thanks for sticking with us.

Possibly the finest post on ad careers ever..

But not before the best chart ever. Via Jcniemeyer. Usual rules, etc.

I'd love to be able to claim that it's one of mine...but i'd be lying through my teeth.

No no, it's by an engagement planner at W&K, Jerome Courtial. He's written a rather special post right here.

It should be required reading for any ad person, or wannabe ad person. Be sure to look through all of the links too - he even references Claude Hopkins, someone only Paul Feldwick, me and the ad historians seem to know exists.

Short but sweet this 'un. Hope those applications are going well. Apply some of this thinking to your interviews and you'll go far.

(Yes, I have used that chart in a presentation. It went down well).

Building a Premium Brand…..Ad Agency

We slave our days debating, theorising, writing charts, crafting presentations, scamping creative work again and again, re touching, presenting I could bore you and go on, but all of this to work towards making their clients the most competitive brands in their sectors. Some agencies are better than others at it. But many fail to put all that energy back into the bricks and mortar from where it’s born.

Why are agencies or advertising not regarded as premium brands or as an industry (if we want to talk about broad strokes). You take the finance industry and it’s regarded as premium, you take management consultancy and again premium. The Saatchi bros tried to add value to the way agencies operate back in the 80s, they tried to buy Midland bank which really was a PR stunt but they were also toying with the idea of adding a management consultancy branch to the famous Saatchi & Saatchi network. It didn’t work. For one thing the market drivers didn’t require ad agencies to offer differentiation at that time but also they were ahead of their time structurally speaking but weren’t clued up to how this would work alongside their core competency – creative communications. One would need to feed off the other and back then there was no to little way this would work. Furthermore adding in this commercial consultancy arm was going to be bought in, just shoved in, no cultural birth from inside the Saatchi brand at all, so again, it was bound to fail.

So there’s an example of an agency trying to elevate itself above its lowly known industry. But what now? Well, McKinsey will chuckle at us by informing the ad industry that we are considered a low ranking and low paid industry because of what we give away…for free. In particular pitching is our biggest sin. We hand over a fully fleshed strategic and creative approach to a brand’s business for the total sum of sweet fuck all before we even have their business. This can’t be helped anymore, if one agency holds back another will bend over screaming ‘over here over here’ with bells on, of course they’ll get the business.

Let’s not get bogged down in structural differentiation right now, no client gives a shit how we work, that’s really about an internal process that can produce better work. What we’re talking about is about lifting this slow and often clumsy industry off its knees and having it recognised for the actual ROI it creates, therein lies value, therein lies premiumisation.

Well, whilst we continue to give away so much we need to develop other lines of offering that aren’t as face value/obvious as creative communications. So this means agencies taking all that stuff at the top of this blog and putting it into their own revenue streams. This means agencies stepping up to brand creation level. Why can’t an agency create the intellectual property for a new brand – either to launch it themselves or to sell it to another brand? Why can’t an agency be content owners and develop TV programming ideas to sell to both networks and clients? Why can’t agencies build up quant and qual research offerings so that can provide fully justifiable segmentation studies (for example) when at pitch level and to a degree brand consultancy level. Why can’t agencies also have a NPD/packaging arm, and one that really does operate as one?

All the above can be seen in parts dotted around agencies in London, but usually these divisions have been bought in and therefore operate as separate PLCs, therefore they’re working towards their own agendas, therefore they don’t work together, therefore this will more than likely end in an in-cohesive mess. Such a way of working really needs to be born from the outset, grown internally so that agendas move together not individually. This as a way of working will of course be slow burn to see the results but it’s my reckoning that here lies value and here lies the premium brand ad agency. The account management led, political, department driven and structured agencies are moving towards a dooms day, FACT. Whilst some may say that it was never the job of large agencies to change the way the ad industry looks is pretty much hiding from their responsibility. It is of course large agency’s role to morph, adapt, grow internal new business lines and structurally shift regardless of upheaval. The apathetic who sit back and watch their shareholder’s cash fall are those who simply don’t understand how to make these changes or aren’t empowered to do so. They’ll fail. But how exciting to see some make these changes, be brave to implement them and enjoy premium status.

Anton xxx

Woo hoo, we're gonna take down the established

Like the sun will rise in the morning advertising has at last woken up to something that was said by myself and Sam, oh, some 4 years ago.

This was that the current working model of AD and CW as creative teams is a bit pony these days and that teams of a creative and a planner is a certain way to getting better solutions. Both are required to be seasoned and by that I don’t mean the old school ivory tower kind of creatives and I don’t mean the planners that will spend lots of time making sure everyone is aware of how considered they are. No sir.

The creatives I’m talking about are young enough to have grown up with digital being integral to how they see communication and old enough to be able to stand up and defend work in the face of a client that they are passionate about.

The planners…..well….are pretty much the same but where they come in isn’t to over complicate and confuse the beautiful mind that sits of opposite them but to make their life easier. It is their role to paint the picture of what’s going on in market, in sector, in segment and in target. This doesn’t mean massive charts and graphs, this means a chat. This means having a crazy wealth of knowledge on the topic that when asked by the creative it pours like Sangria in Magaluf.

This isn’t to say that the planner is the total and utter gimp of the creative. Far from it. They are a crucial part of the stimulus which gets to the idea. What I am saying is that we trade on creative ideas we don’t trade on bureaucracy, schmoozing and doing exactly what we are told. That leads us down the dark path of mediocrity which surprise surprise many large clumsy networks are in. It’s only a matter of time before these clumsy dinosaurs are exposed for their total lack of creativity and that no amount of regular lunches will save them from their inadequacies.

So in comes the dawn of a new shape of agency. It isn’t digital screaming how traditional has it all wrong and is so out of touch with its one way dialog. It isn’t a creative team locked away in an office with a closed door, waiting for someone to walk in so they can throw their one award at them from 1999 ‘pfft, don’t they know we’re THINKING’. It isn't the standard start of TV when planning integration.

It is a meeting of two minds, both colourful, both commercial, both rebellious the only differing bit is that one prefers to be called a creative and one prefers to be called a planner. One has spent more time mocking up their ideas into visual manifestations and one has spent more time mocking up their ideas as evidenced stories.

This creative force will of course out manoeuvre any traditional setup. That and the old structure is fucking dull and limited. The problem though is that this model can’t be just ‘imposed’. Because it is quite free it can’t exist in the larger nertworks, they would just ruin its purity anyway with process. Nope, this needs to be the culture of a small agency, it needs to be integrated slowly because the importance of the two that make up the team is ridiculously crucial. You can’t just nip down to Watford and pick these people off the shelf, they need to be discovered having wanted to work like this, have already thought like this, have tried it out maybe.

So, there you go, another structure rant over, next will be about how you go about getting the ball rolling on it. I’ll wait until I’ve caught my breath before I start on that one.

Anton

xxx

p.s. This model was the topic of my dissertation (written June 2004) and that the structure of ad agencies needs to change. If you want a copy let me know and I’ll be happy to send it

This Mad Season

I feel stupid, but I know it won't last for long,

And I've been guessing, and I coulda been guessing wrong,
You don't know me now, I kinda thought that you should somehow,
Does that whole Mad Season got you down?

The first verse of Matchbox Twenty's song Mad Season sums up how I feel right now having ploughed through a variety of agency graduate recruitment applications over the last week or so.

I personally get into a groove with these things and find I can get them done in quick succession if I'm in the mood, but then if I'm not it's useless even opening them up because questions like 'How to sell coal to an eskimo' bounce around the inside of my head and exit rapidly.

And what I and the rest of the guys all agree on is that one of the most important things you can do when filling out these applications is to let your personality shine through. Now that is infinitely easier said than done I agree, but it's crucial to you getting noticed in the piles of applications that will cross any given agency's desk.

So how do you do it? There's no magical silver bullet I'm afraid; if there was someone would be filthy-rich by now by patenting it, so it boils down to this: be you. Personality is something unique to you so don't try to find it in someone else. I would advise against typing 'How to sell coal to an Eskimo' into google and trying to use anything you find as the basis of your answer. To see how other's have attacked the question is of course, great to do. But your answer has to be all about you. Which is what will make you get an invitation to interview as well. So when it asks for your favorite song lyric think of your favorite song, why you like it and leave it all on the page (that's my way of saying that the more personal the answer the better). If you wear your heart on your sleeve in real life do the same on your form, and conversely don't try and be something you're not. Your application forms, CVs and all the rest of it should be extensions of yourself - recognisable as you.

Another thing that could be useful to keep in mind is that when faced with the blank spaces of application forms - especially the questions at the end (like 'is there anything else we should know about you?'), continuous prose may not be the best way to go about a particular question. I'm not saying do the whole thing in bullet points, but think about how to visually differentiate yourself within a written answer. Maybe do a flowchart, a mindmap, a cartoon, graffiti, a picture, maybe import a digital picture, maybe string a couple together to do a montage. Think of how you want to make it you. Graduate application forms should be something that you know you're ready to send off because you're happy you've indelibly stamped them with your personality. A friend should be able to read through your answers and know it's you who wrote it without seeing the name on the top of it.

The 'anything else' or 'use this box as you like' sections on applications are the best sections - they let you give the reader a flavor of what you're like, don't waste them.

Brand Republic Ahoy

This picture may have nothing to do with the post. But I took it and think it's damn cool.

After much procrastination on my part, the first post for the Brand Republic edition of AdGrads is up. I'll put the first post up here but for future posts we'll whack the links here for you guys to go check it out over there. That made sense when I wrote it, I swear.

W1, We Have a Problem..

When thinking about what to write about as a first blog post on Brand Republic, I toyed with a few ideas. Maybe a bit about each of us and why we started the AdGrads blog in the first place? Or perhaps we should let one our stars tell their stories about how they got into the industry?

But what swayed me was something that happened today. I walked back into university for the second day of my final year, and was guided to the careers service, where I was informed that this week was finalist career week - and over 100 companies would be giving sessions about their companies to students from Warwick, Aston and Birmingham universities.

After a quick question to one of the staff members, I was told that the number of final year students in these three universities was in excess of 10,000, all who had been emailed details of the week and (hopefully) a good chunk of them interested in what life after university entails.

And guess what? Not one piece of literature, not one prospective employer, not one reference to advertising. 10,000 finalists, more than a hundred companies, and nothing from the advertising industry.

In a nutshell, that is why Will, Anton and Alex and myself set up AdGrads, because as hard as it is for anyone to hear the brutal truth about themselves, the industry is not doing nearly enough to help themselves find the best graduates. Not nearly enough, and today was another example of that. There is a gap in the market for educating students about how amazing the advertising industry is as a career choice and why the often obtuse application forms are worthy of their time and effort. If there wasn't a gap, then to be honest, this blog probably wouldn't exist. We are here because there is a problem.

The reality of the situation now is that the advertising industry is not on a level playing field. Banking, consultancy, accountancy et al are a good way ahead in communicating, educating and ultimately recruiting the cream of the graduate crop. Advertising as an industry now has to try and kick start their drive to get the best talent, and that means doing the things they can do the best: getting creative.

Both individual agencies and the industry as a whole have to ask themselves one question: Do we really want to attract the best? If the answer is yes, then go in wholeheartedly and do it. Utilise all the tools at your disposal and get the word out there.

Brand Republic's online careers fair is a great example of how to get things started, as it acknowledges that the internet and all things digital are media that we have grown up with. As we live and we breathe it everyday, adopting these channels to get to us is a wise move. Agencies; use your talent in creating innovative solutions to your clients' problems to help create a solution to your biggest problem, because the gap will only get bigger if things keep going as they are. That may be a bitter pill to swallow for the industry.

But the truth sometimes is.

Idea Thinking...

An idea, yesterday. Picture via Julienne! Usual rules apply.

Rightyho. As promised in the last post, I thought I'd help by attempting to explain the difference between three notions of what an 'idea' is. Anyone who is reading this and wants to disagree, feel free - some of them are open to debate.

1) Executional Ideas

This one should be relatively straightforward. Basically, it's a one-off ad, which builds upon the overall campaign message. So say one of the BT ads with Kris Marshall does something different (say they meet his step-kids father, and the ad advertises new technology), it can be seen to be an executional idea.

Now, this can all be critiqued if the executional idea doesn't seem to fit into a brand line of thinking - say the ad had no resemblence to the ad before it, and jarred with the previous executions/campaigns. Now, if you wanted to criticise a piece of work in your interview/application form, I'd suggest stating that you thought the ad was 'just an executional idea' - that is, it's a one off which jars with any strategic thinking/campaign thoughts of previous work.

In theory, every new ad is an executional idea to an extent, so it needn't be a criticism. But it's a useful piece of terminology to pull out in an interview (particularly if you are interviewed by a planner - they love that stuff, for the most part). Of course, you'll have to explain why..

2) Campaign Ideas

A campaign idea then...I see campaign ideas as being longer term than an executional idea (natch), but not necessarily the full blown 'this is our longest term strategy, which will go on for 20+ years'. Most strategies fall into this category, especially with the quick turn over of new technologies/marketing directors/pricing plans (although work for the latter can just be simply an executional idea - it depends on the range of ads).

This is not to say that they aren't worthwhile, and bloody successful. Often, a really good piece of thinking/planning/creative on a Campaign idea will go on to form the basis of a brand idea - say 'Have a Break, Have a Kit-Kat' - giving people a reason to eat Kit-Kats by making it a little reward for their hard work. It may have once been a short term campaign thought to boost sales, but over time, it has become their big brand idea. (No, I wasn't about in 1957 when they thought it up, so I really don't know for sure).

A modern day example could be, ooh, the majority of ads out there - just be sure you know WHY it's a campaign idea and not an overall brand idea, otherwise you could be left open in interview.

3) Brand Ideas

The legendary ideas. Those that shape a company's thinking for the next 20, 30 or 40 years. Examples of this could be the Avis work 'We're Number 2, so we try harder', which has been running since 1962, the Economist print work from AMV BBDO and Guinness's transition from being 'Good for You' to making a virtue of the product taking a long time to pour, and how this impacts on things being worth waiting for - a genius bit of thinking.

Now, the industry is obsessed with 'big brand ideas', and the above three, I think it's safe to say, are examples of them. They are great and (usually) long lasting because they provide a new way of viewing the product, maybe turning a negative into a positive, but always, always reframing how we see things.

And, of course, they allow agencies to keep ahold of clients for a very long time. Which is great.

Essentially, if you start to talk about any big brand ideas, or any ads, be aware that if you can suss out the 'idea behind the ad', as cliched as that sounds, you'll do very well. It's very easy to say that you like Sony Balls because it's a fantastic piece of film; but what about the overriding message? Have you begun to decode what 'Like No Other' is implying, and how it may well become a great brand idea.

That said, when it comes to talking about other people's ideas, pick one which is likely to be a bit more original - EVERYONE will talk about Sony Balls, Gorilla, Skoda Cake or Citroen's Robot. Be smart, and pick something which isn't obvious - what about the new Brylcreem work? And by all means, say there are bits you don't like/understand etc, if needs be. How you respond initially is every bit as important as deciding which of the three categories the ad fits into - after all, you are viewing it as a potential consumer, and not a planner (yet..).

And for goodness sake, don't mindlessly slag off the ideas at the agency you are interviewing at. You can say you didn't understand things/don't agree with this and that, but be prepared to back it up - and realise that a lot of bad ads come about from poor agency/client relations; there will be a lot going on behind the work that you don't know about - politics and so forth. So be careful..

It's Nice to be Nice...

Football's 'Mr Nice Guy'

Or, 'Why being an arsehole gets you nowhere'.

Picture the scene. You've managed to get into the industry, at long long last. And (quite rightly), you are dead chuffed.

Now, there are usually two reactions to this. You either 1) Become very humble, yet confident about your place in the industry or 2) Start acting like a little Hitler, believing that other people who haven't gotten in are inferior, and that you somehow have a God given right to preach mantras at others.

It's pretty obvious that the latter is only practiced by toss pieces. And I'm sure whoever that's reading this is thinking 'oh no, I've never acted like that'. Rubbish. We all have our little Hitler moments, when the ego's a little overinflated. The trick is to keep them to a minimum, helped out by recognising that we don't, in fact, know everything, and advertising is, after all, just a career, one of many - no more right or wrong than anything else.

But (and the reason for this post), you, Mr or Ms potential grad recruit, you should never ever act like option two before you get into the business. No, no acting like you know it all from the outset. You really don't know why that ad isn't very good - and why would you? It could have been client conflict or some form of agency self interest.

Be a pleasant person. There was an agency grad form of a few years ago which had a question about 'being on a train with someone', and how you'd keep fellow agency folk interested. Well, I'm not prescribing being the most 'interesting' person in the world, because God knows, enough supposed trendier agencies will make the mistake of equating trendy with good at your job. No, you'll be interesting by being a nice guy or gal, and by talking about what you're interested in - whether it's the Norwegian Leather Industry or the Gold Standard, or your Skydiving at the weekends.

And, God knows, this industry is small enough. I'm meeting people who interviewed me a year or so ago now; it's a damned echo chamber. Chances are, you'll end up working with those people. So be nice. It's always worth it in the long run.

NB: Being nice doesn't mean being boring though - be engaging, for God's sake. You don't want to get to interview and just nod and smile without getting your interviewer/s to talk. That's the worst thing in the world.

Reality vs Fantasy

Yes, sometimes clients will do this to you...

Or otherwise known as 'shattering those illusions'.

There's a helluva lot of a discrepancy between what a lot of graduate schemes will tell you, and what the job is really like. If this blog does nothing else, it should help wise you all up about what the job is really like - short of properly experiencing it.

The first job, if you are able to get onto a grad scheme, will undoubtedly be in account management. Now, personally (and again, due to my upbringing - dad's a suit, y'see), I thought the job would have incorporate a helluva lot of strategy from the very beginning. Wrong.

You'll be binding, checking, photocopying and client pleasing, spending an awful lot of time on PowerPoint as you go (though the latter never really leaves you, I won't lie). The pace of life gets really quick, really fast. No dicking about, this is a job, not an extended University booze cruise. Along the way, you do have a lot of fun - you get to have (some) long lunches with the client and the senior agency management, the odd random and fun day out and generally experience a lot of different things.

It's a good thing, really - because it helps you realise just what the meat and drink of the job is straight away, and what each of the different departments in an ad agency do - there's a danger that if you have your heart set on being a planner at first, you'll never really find out what the art buying department, account handlers or production do on a daily basis. No, you get to experience it all, which is great for your learning.

You also begin to realise why a lot of junior account handlers either move into planning or drop out of the industry - it's just not like the land of academia they knew, or the picture painted by the agency.

Now, the job does change. You become more senior, the strategic element of the job gets greater, and it becomes a lot more cerebral. Which is great for some people, but not for everyone - it's why the likes of Anton and myself became planners - plainly, we didn't feel that the job was for us, but we liked the strategic element.

You may have an idea of what you'd like to do now - plainly, a lot of you who are more academic will be thinking either 'planning sounds great' or 'oo err, maybe advertising's not for me - it sounds like a slog'. But you have to experience it to realise where your strengths lie and where you fit in.

Just don't get taken in by fantasy, that's all...

The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth

So I guess it’s my (Anton’s) turn to write something, not that I mind writing or that I consider myself ‘too busy’ to do so, just an insecurity that I’ll bore you really.

So I won't fuck around or try and bullshit about advertising being great, spew lies about lunches, intellectualise what a planner’s role is or hide from you the fact that the first year or two is quite demoralising. Sorry, that’s all bit rank really isn’t it, but it’s honest. So what is there to celebrate about thinking of a career in advertising? Well for me what is really key are the people. Sounds quite twee actually, but harps back to my original declaration, it’s honest. The people I’ve crossed paths with in advertising are (Sandstorm by Cast has just come on and I can’t help but recognise that it’s a class tune, anyway) funny, dull, clever, shit, fantastic, egocentric, generous, inspirational, de-motivating, helpful, harmful, indulgent, bullies, grateful…I could go on, my point being is that no where else in a work environment have I come across such a colourful group of people.

So yeah, you have friends who provide all these things but what you want is a rock solid career I guess. Well, the thing is, in my humble opinion, unless you have an intrinsic interest in people you’re going to be pretty shit in advertising. Further to that if you have an issue with being honest you’re going to (despite popular belief) have an even greater issue with a career in advertising. The only way I can think of communicating an analogy for this right now, due to a fuzzy head (another good thing: in no other work place are you celebrated for rocking in looking like you had a nastier evening than the other guy/girl) is when you were a kid and lying to your parents would come out all incoherent, disjointed and generally transparent as opposed to being a teenager when you believed in your angst driven convictions and could argue and argue and argue…because essentially you believed you were right. My long winded point being that by being honest and presenting the truth as you see it is a pre-requisite; the day of the bull shitter is long gone. Having said that I’ve managed to escape Account Management and now work in utopia that is strategic planning which essentially is based on understanding humans and being honest so my view is most certainly skewed, however, it makes me look better if you share it obviously.

I need some water, a sandwich and 2 ibuprofen so I’m going to cut this short. Umm, yeah I love it really, I love the people I work with, I love how I respect/aspire to be my bosses and don’t think they’re dumb c*nts, I love learning about people and how they behave and how they click with products and I love the fact I’m paid to do so. I’ll write more intelligibly next time I promise.....and it’s okay by the way to romanticise working in advertising (if you're passionate about the above) along as you aren’t out to network, I hate networking and the future of this industry depends on you to hate it in its traditional form also.

About The Wiki..

...we had it planned, and you asked for it as well, so a wiki is on the way. We'll stash our guest contributors' stories on how they got into adland there along with a meaty reading list, graduate recruitment deadlines and whatever else you guys put on it. Remember, this site and its content are yours, so keep telling us what you want.

Just give us some time to make the wiki look cool.

Jack Bauer? How did you get in here?

I HAVE DEVOTED MY WHOLE LIFE TO PROTECTING MILLIONS OF AMERI - okay thats about all the Jack Bauer you're gonna get here I'm afraid.

I'll get the ball rolling with my entrance into adland as its easily the least glamorous of all of us.

Present: I'm fast approaching my first year at a Media Agency... Lets keep it at that. It is major one though, one of the top5 - lots of new business, lots of awards, lots of krispy kremes. I'm on the comms planning team working on a major Automotive client, an FMCG and until recently I was working on a major high street bank advertiser.

I got in on the grad scheme after an interview, aptitude test and grad assessment day (more on these later). I reckon most of it was knowledge and talent - rest was the agency needing to fill their ethnic minority staff quota!

Past: Prior to this I had a month experience at a small content creation agency in Brixton called Ramp (now Up-comms). Although it was unpaid, the work was good and I was involved in some tidy projects such as Channel 4's UK Tribes, Guardian's Digital Nation and Puma's Adopt a German campaign - all of which gave me sound understanding of 'yoof' and exposure to the rise of new media.

Future?: Media is where I am now but who knows if it will be where I end up.

And that's about it for an introduction... I've plenty to share on getting into adland and keen to help anyone.

JB

My Story...

Yes, I've always looked this confused, unfortunately (photo courtesy of Sam).

Right then, let's have a stab at this... ahem. So, my journey in Ad Land..

It could be argued that my journey into advertising happened from birth, to be honest. My father is a 'suit'. He's an account handler, and the MD of a Cheltenham agency (after stints at Cogent and as a marketing manager of Kays catalogue). I must hasten to add that he knows bugger all people in London, before cries of 'nepotism' are heard.

So I've always been aware of the wider ad world; he'd come home, complain about certain clients, and revel when a pitch went well. As someone who's always been interested in English (both reading and writing), I thought I'd become a copywriter when I grew up.

All of this was forgotten when I went to University to read English, right up until the second year. I then began to realise that perhaps a career as a self financing author wouldn't be that financially lucrative. So it was time to look around.

Having the world's crappest careers library, I took to the t'internet. As well as Advertising, I considered Publishing (not well paid enough, potentially very dull), Law (sign your life away for a £60k starting salary), Journalism (having to start at the very very bottom didn't really appeal) or Editing (snore).

So Advertising it was. I'm a bit lucky; because of my Dad, I was given access to Campaign each week. Visions of long lunches and massive accounts began to form in my mind - I was going to be an account handler, and a bloody good one.

I only applied to two schemes in 2005 (Grey and the WPP Fellowship) in my final year, preferring to concentrate on getting a good final mark - which, I'm happy to say, worked out. I was a bit put off by Grey's process; it was all about making a DVD of yourself, going to a party in London, and THEN make an ad. Seemed like a lot of work, but it was fun...sadly, I didn't get in. The WPP scheme, by contrast, seemed like a golden ticket, the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory of the ad world. Got to a first round interview there, but sadly no further...

Regardless, my appetite was whetted. I needed to find out some more. I thought to myself that I could do with some work experience - not being from London, I had no funds to get myself down, nor people to stay with. So I took a temp job at home to pay for my excursions - and did a bit of account handling/the odd competitive review at Fallon and DLKW. The advantage of all of this was that it helped me figure out just where I'd fit in..or at least gave me some idea.

At this point, I decided to write a blog, after reading Russell's, Noisy Decent Graphics (who later wrote a very nice post about me here) & Adliterate. I didn't have much to say, but I thought that it'd be a useful in showcasing how I thought, and how I'd be a useful addition to the agency world.

Come summer time, I was able to successfully get onto the Saatchi & Saatchi Summer Scholarship (after doing an online account management task or three, a phone interview and the infamous final task). All of that, plus my experiences beforehand, and my blog, convinced them to allow me on.

Sadly, I was a rubbish, rubbish account man. Working at SaatchiX, I basically found out that looking after the minutae of an account (at least as a junior) was really not for me - this wasn't the constant client meeting or strategising that my father did. No, it was very admininstrative, with what seemed like constant demands..and it really wasn't playing to my strengths.

Throughly chastened, I finished the scheme and buggered off back home to do some more temping, and some more thinking. Maybe Advertising wasn't for me? Well...after briefly reconsidering Law, and being abused by the locals at the local council, I came to a conclusion. What did I enjoy the most? Strategy. Helping work out business problems, and solving them. It was under my nose the whole time.

Yep, I was a planner. I tried to convince various agency grad schemes that was the case, but wasn't able to do it. However, various conversations with Richard Huntington at United (the writer of Adliterate) were occuring in the whole process, and I went up to London to meet him. We got on like a house on fire, and I was hired in March 2007 as a junior planner.

After some enjoyable months, the agency was touted as merging (after losing £75m worth of SKY business) with Grey. Sadly, we didn't, and selected staff members from United joined up with them. Still, it was enough for me to know I was a planner - I'd assisted on a lot of the agency's business, and was told I got on really well.

But it could have been back to square one...no, happily, it wasn't. I made a book of all my planning thinking and work (along with various brand positionings of my own), and went around various agencies, picking up some useful advice, and some freelance positions.

And here I am today, freelancing and writing this blog and 'Confessions of a Wannabe Ad Man'. Phew, I hope that was useful for someone...